Desert Messenger

Robert Strange, K7RES, Branch Emergency Communications Specialist, says "While our first priority is to account for our church members, we are also concerned about the community as well and members are encouraged to support local city efforts to organize and prepare. In December of 2016, the church conducted an Emergency Preparedness Expo. Dana Dyer, one of the organizers of that event, has met with city officials and several community groups to encourage more efforts in organizing for emergen- cies. One of our Block Leaders, Lynn Dyer, is also a Block Captain for Neighborhood Watch and promotes the activ- ities of that group in her neighborhood. Other church members attend the monthly Neighbor- hood Watch meetings." "In the community, we have sev- eral non-LDS members who help us, such as Dave Anderson, K1AN, providing training and a radio link to the Fire Department, Earl Jaycock, K7EKJ, and Russ Pease, KG7MQC, who provide radio links for one of our blocks, and Lois DuPre, KI7HHV, who is a Block Leader for us as well as providing a radio link to the Ambulance Service. Lois is also adding members of her neighborhood to her block list so they can be accounted for as well. By helping each other, we can make our en- tire community stronger and better prepared." "In the winter, there are an additional 500 LDS members that we need to add to our block lists. We will need more block leaders and radio opera- tors. If you would like to help, please contact Robert Strange at 208-569- 6515." "Organizing the community is a much larger and more difficult task. Neighborhood Watch is in need of block leaders and radio operators and interested persons should contact the Quartzsite Police Department at 928-927-4644. Quartzsite Police Chief William Ponce works with Dave "Bear" Collier of Neighborhood Watch and Robert Strange of the LDS ERC team. After making the initial report, block leaders then went to the homes of those not reporting to check on their status, and determine the gallons of drinking water on hand. This information became the Follow Up Report, which was also transmitted via radio to the LDS EOC. At the LDS EOC, Branch Leaders received and analyzed the reports, ac- counting for all members using a master block list so no one was missed. A Disaster Report was prepared for transmission to Stake leaders in Lake Havasu via Amateur Radio, indicating any unaccounted members. In an actual emergency, this report would indicate number of members injured or killed, members' homes damaged or destroyed and a report on the sta- tus of the community and any requests for outside assistance. Results of our test: 126 out of 144 families were contacted, or 87%. 18 families were unaccounted for. Those reporting averaged 45 gallons of drinking water per family. As a community Emergency Operations Center has not yet been established, ham radio operators were dispatched to the Fire and Police Departments, City Public Works and the Ambulance Service in order to relay reports for assistance to these agencies, assuming the phones are not working. Branch Leaders have advised the City Manager of the capabilities of their LDS EOC and indicated that it would be made available to the City if need- ed in an actual emergency. 16 www.DesertMessenger.com April 5, 2017 Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ DesertMessengerNews Follow on Twitter @DesertMessenger @QuartzsiteRain SEE LDS PAGE 17 LDS FROM PAGE 1

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